UK creatives call for anti-piracy commitments

The UK’s Creative Coalition Campaign (CCC) – which brings together leading organisations in the film, music, publishing, games, and sport sectors; as well as trade bodies and trade unions – is urging the Government and all political parties to support proportionate measures to tackle the widespread theft of creative content online in their 2015 General Election manifestos.

The CCC notes that the UK’s creative industries support thousands of jobs and businesses across the country yet huge amounts of creative content continues to be stolen online, adding that online copyright infringement threatens jobs, damages revenues and undermines investment in the creative industries.

It says that tackling online copyright infringement successfully requires a combination of different tactics including: using enforcement action to make it harder for sites offering infringing content to operate; educating consumers about the harm caused by online infringement and the availability of legal content services; working with key stakeholders including Internet Service Providers, search engines, advertisers and payment processors to ensure everyone plays their part in a responsible online environment.

Launching the new petition, Christine Payne, Chair of the CCC and General Secretary of actors’ trade union Equity said: “I’m delighted to launch this new petition calling on all political parties to stand up for creators and workers by committing to support the fight against online copyright infringement. This is a chance for all those whose livelihoods depend on copyright to make their voice heard.”